Drinking-fountain.



W. B. KNAPP.

DRINKING FOUNTAIN.

APPLICATION man MAY 11, 1911.

Patented June 20, 1916.

l ,1 WM? Pia-1.

WITNESSES.

ATTORNEYS THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cm, \VASHINGTON, n. c.

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WILLIAM BRUCE nivarrfor nEwroRK, 1v. Y., n ssrenon r0 opera w. FAIRBANK,or

- NEW YORK, N. Y.

DRINKING-FOUNTAIN Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 2Q,1916.

I Application filed May 11, 1911. 2 Serial No. 626,618.

To all whom it may concern: w

Be it known that I, VVILLIAM BRUCE KNAPP, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan,county and State of. New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Drinking-Fountains, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements indrinking fountains, ofthat type in which there is an upwardlydirected nozzle, from which watermay flow at a limited rate, and over which a person desiring a drink mayplace his mouth. Fountains of this kind are commonly used in parks,schools and other public and semi-public places, an

object being to dispense with the unsanitary public drinking cup. If thewater be permitted to flow continually at the fountain, there is anenormous-waste of water, and if each person be permitted to turn thewater on and off for himself, it has been found that certain persons,particularlychildren,

will place the lips in direct contact with the nozzle before turning onthe water, which renders the fountain no more sanitary than the publicdrinking cup.

One main object of my invention is to avoid these objections bypermitting each individual to turn on the water for himself,

but positively preventing him from placing.

his lips to the nozzle before the flow of water starts. In most drinkingfountains, a regulating device is provided for limiting the rate of flowof the water, and often. mischievous persons will, tamper with thisregulating device so as to seriously interfere with the properoperation.

A further object of my invention is to.

protect this regulating device in a simple and efficient manner and atthe same time permit of its ready adpistment by aproper person.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, which form a partof this.

In the specific form shown in Fig. l, I employ a-cast metal body portion10, havmg an upwardly projecting nozzle 11, a valve chamber 12 and alower supporting coupling 13. The coupling may be of any form desired toadapt it for connection to a supply pipe 14. The valve chamber isdivided by a partition 15 having a port therethrough and a valve seat 16for a puppet valve 17. The valve seat lies in asubstantially.verticalplane, and the valve moves in a horizontaldirection. It is normally held to its seat by a spring 18 disposedbetween the valve and a removal cap 19 on the high pressure side of thevalve. The valve stem 20 is supported and guided in a lug 21 011 theside of the valve casing, and within this lug is a suitable packinggland22.: It will be noted that when the valve is closed there will be nowater pressure against this packing gland and, therefore, no liability.of leakage around the valve stem.

The valve is operated by a handle or arm 23 fulcrumed upon a pivot 24 atthe outer end of the lug 21, and has its lower end normally in. contactwithor closely adjacent to the outer end of the valve stem. The upperend 26 of the arm or lever is disposed directly over the nozzle so as toform a protecting guard for the latter and normally prevent any one fromplacing his lips over the nozzle. This guard 26 may be of any formdesired, it only being essential that it effectively serve thepurposedesired, that is, to protect the nozzle. The guard is prefererablyspaced at short distance from the nozzle, so as not to contacttherewith, and is preferably ofsuch shape as to permit it to be readilygrasped in the hand to move it to one side in opening the valve. Thefulcrum of the lever arm 23 is very much nearer the lower end than theupper end, so that the guard 26 may be swung through a large arc inopening the valve. The valve is normally closed, and the guardisnormally over the nozzle, as shown in the drawout through an opening27 in the top wall The water is ordinarily de plishing the same object,The particular form shown in Fig. 1 may be very ineXpen-' sivelymanufactured, as'the main body is fformed'of a single castingand theforming ofthe threads for the cap l9, the grinding of the valve seat 16and the boring of the "passage for the valve stem may all be done on aturretlathe without changingthe po-' sition of the casting.

After the water passes'thc valve 17, it may flow upwardly into thenozzle Hand of the nozzle. v livered under rather higlrpressure, and itis desired that the flow be uniform and comparatively slow, irrespectiveof thee tent to which the valve 17 is opened, To

. secure this-regulation, I form the nozzle 11 with an air chamber 28and a perforated tube 29 extending inwardly and down- 'wardly fromtheopening 27. This tube has a lower end wall 30 normally spaced a short7 distance from a seat 31 between the nozzle i proper and the valvechamber. This inner end Wall has a. transverse slot therein, so

7 that by extending a screw driver through s end and rotating the tube,the latterfmay v be moved longitudinally to bring it closer the tubeinto engagement with this inner to or farther away from this seat andthus regulate the flow. The regulating device is thus concealed and isunaccessible save to a person familiar with the construction and havinga screwdriver .or otherr'instrument' capable of insertion through thetube. The

tube is shown as beingiadjustable byfreason I of'its threadedconnections with: the wall of the nozzle. Instead of forming the tube inthis manner, I might employ atub'e 32 as shown in Fig.2,which is rigidwith the nozzle. In this form, the inner end wall33 constitutesa plugthreaded in the'tube, so that by inserting the; screwdriver through thetube, the inner end alone may be rotated and" adjusted relatively tothe'seati The flow. might also be regulatedby adjusting I this innerwall or plug 33 upwardly so as to cover or partially coverso'me'of the'perforations in the tuber I V r "In the form shown inFig. 2, I employa" turningplug34 inplace of the puppet valve v =17 shown in; Fig.. 1QIThisturning' plug is "providednvith a handle 35 extending upwardlyvbeside th e' nozzl and terminated in guard..'36 disposedabove thenozzle. With the valvefqclosed, a person'rcannot place his j lipslto'fthenoz zle, but thexact of turning on the water serves to open thevalve.

- It is evident that'other devices might be designedto operate inaccordance with. the

: principles of myinvention, for instance, the wvalve mightmovelengthwiseiof the valvechamber andthe guard b'ein the form of asleevetelescoping witlrthe nozzle and movable downwardly fto expose thenozzle and pressure of the water. bottom of the tube may be madenon-adopen the valve. Instead of this, the nozzle might be verticallymovable out of the sleeve 7 to expose the nozzle and open the valve.

The total area of all of the openings in the tube 29 is less than thearea of the outlet from the tube, so that these openings may be utilizedas the means for reducing the The tube and the justable and theperforations increased in number from a minimum to give the desiredflow.

Having thusdescribed my invention what I' claimas new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is: V

l. A drinking fountain having an upwardly extending substantiallyrigidly mounted nozzle, a valve for controlling the flow therefrom, aguard spaced from the outlet of said nozzle and normally in alinementwith said nozzle to prevent a person from placing the mouth over saidnozzle, said guard being movable laterally out of said position foropening said valve and permitting the flow of water and meansindependent of said valve and operable through the outlet of said nozzlefor restricting the flow.

2. In a drinking fountain, the combination of a nozzle, a puppet valvemovable transversely' thereof for. controlling the flow therethrough anda protecting guard opera tively connected to said valve and normallypreventing a person from placing the mouth over the nozzle.

3. A drinking fountain, including a cast 100 metal body, including avalve chamber and an upwardly extending nozzle, a valve within saidvalve chamber,a spring for normally holding said valve in closedposition, and a lever fulcrumed on said body and having oneendoperatively connected to said valve and the other end normally disposeddirectly above said nozzle to constitute a protecting guard therefor.

,4. In a drinking fountain, the combination of a water chamber having awater inlet 1 andan outlet, a perforated outlet tube projecting intosaid chamber from said outlet, and having an open upper end, and aclosed inner end, the space within said chamber above the perforationsin the tubing constituting an airchamber, and said inner end beingadapted for rotation by a tool inserted through said tubeto regulate theflow of water through thetube. p,

5. A drinking fountain, including a nozzle, alvalve movable transverselythereof for controlling the How therethrough and a protecting. guardoperatively connected to said valve and normally preventing a personfromplacing the month over the nozzle.

6. In a. drinking fountain, the combination' of a nozzle including awater'chamber having an outlet at the top thereof, and a downwardly fromsaid outlet, a delivery tube projecting into said chamber and re movablethrough said outlet and adjustable to control the flow through saidtube, a valve normally preventing the flow through said tube and meansfor operating said valve.

7. A. drinking fountain, including a Water chamber having an upperportion constituting a substantially hemispherical dome with an outletat the top thereof, a perforated outlet tube projecting into saidchamber from the top thereof, and having an open upper end substantiallyflush With said top and a closed innerend, said tube being endwiseadjustable to control the flow therethrough.

8. In a drinking fountain, the combination of a water chamber having aWater inlet and an outlet, a perforated outlet tube projecting into saidchamber from said outlet and having an open upper end substantiallyflush with said top Wall, and a closed inner end and said inner endbeing adapted for rotation by a tool inserted through said tube toregulate the flow of water through said tube.

9. In a drinking fountain, a cast metal body having a nozzle chamberterminating in a substantially hemispherical dome with an outlet at thetop thereof, a valve chamber, a passage connecting said chambers, avalve within said valve chamber, a delivery tube extending down intosaid nozzle from the outlet thereof, and having an open endsubstantially flush with the outer surface of said nozzle chamber, and aclosed inner end movable toward and from said port to control the flowfrom said valve chamber to said nozzle chamber independently of theaction of said valve.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM BRUCE KNAPP.

Witnesses:

C. W. FAIRBANK, W. C. CAMPBELL.

Copioa at this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Eatenta, Washington, D. C.

